This editorial gives a glimpse into the uppercrust of the BPA and ponders whether President Obama and Energy Secretary Chu will alter the BPA leadership. Could this be an opportunity for a dramatic acceleration in the re-balancing of the Northwest’s priorities: renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, thriving salmon, and healthy killer whales? First and foremost, we should watch during this potential transition for a chance to gain political momentum for removing the dams on the lower Snake River!
by The Editorial Board
Thursday December 11, 2008, 4:20 PM
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Dams, wind, power and politics
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| Who should lead the Bonneville Power Administration into a bold new era of green energy? |
| Obama and his strong choice for Energy Secretary, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu, will set a very different course on national energy policy, and by extension, will put different demands and expectations on Bonneville and its executives. |
| But we’d caution against any rush to change the leadership at the BPA. Wright, a careeer BPA official appointed administrator by former President Clinton, and kept by President George W. Bush, is a talented executive who’s done a fine job under difficult circumstances. |
| He’s forged an agreement on salmon recovery with Native American tribes |
| Sure, Wright is effective at making sure the dams produce ‘affordable’ electricity |
| We are also paying through the nose for salmon programs that aren’t working and will never lead to recovery. |
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